"Wanted. Immediate capture advised. Name: Kael Grayson. Age: Twenty-five. Extremely dangerous. Suspected of multiple homicides, destruction of private property, and assaulting law enforcement. Reward: One hundred thousand liros for any reliable information leading to his arrest or death."
The anchor's voice thundered through the room.
Sara dropped the glass of juice she was holding. It shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor, but she didn't even blink. Her eyes were fixed on the TV screen.
It was him.
There was no denying it.
Kael, captured by security cameras, appeared attacking armed guards, blasting open a mansion gate with a wave of wind, then fleeing through the streets at superhuman speed.
The image froze on his face for a second.
Dark eyes. Tense jaw. Blood on his clothes.
"The public is advised not to approach. Kael possesses non-human abilities. Authorities consider him a maximum-level threat."
Sara staggered. She had to grab the doorframe to keep from falling.
"No… it can't be… Kael…"
The tears came with a fury that caught her off guard. Not gentle. Not silent. Choked cries. A sob that split her chest in two.
She dropped to her knees in front of the TV, as if the screen was telling her that the person she loved most no longer existed.
"It's not true… You're not a monster!"
But the world disagreed.
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An hour later, Sara sat on the floor, legs crossed, eyes swollen, face drenched. Surrounded by silence. No one else in the house. Only the TV playing the same news segment on repeat.
She watched it again.
Part of her wanted to believe it was a mistake. That Kael hadn't done those things. That he was being framed. That there had to be another explanation.
But the footage didn't lie.
He killed those men.
Destroyed buildings.
Ran from the police.
She remembered the moment she found him covered in blood. The knife. The gun. The fear in his eyes.
"Sara, I didn't want to do it…"
But what if now he did?
"Damn it, Kael!" she screamed, throwing the remote at the wall. "What did you do?"
She picked up her phone. Hesitated.
Should she call him?
What if he was dead?
What if he was hurt?
What if… he didn't want to be found?
She pressed the phone to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Just tell me you're okay… Just once."
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Across the city…
Kael stared at his reflection in a rusted metal sheet. He didn't recognize himself.
Days had passed since the mansion attack.
Since he killed Ismael.
Since his name was plastered all over the news.
The warehouse he was hiding in was damp, dark, and silent. He'd stolen canned food from a shuttered store. Slept on the floor with the book under his head like a pillow.
He had no one.
Only that damned book.
And guilt.
Sitting against the wall, his sheathed sword by his side, Kael flipped through the pages with dirty hands. He had read every spell, every warning. He knew that if he wanted to move forward, he'd have to kill again.
The counter was still there.
"14/100."
His fingers trembled.
"I'm not a killer. I wasn't born for this."
He stood. Began pacing the warehouse, muttering under his breath.
"What if I turn myself in? Would they kill me? Lock me up? Experiment on me?"
He closed his eyes. Pictured himself in handcuffs. Surrounded by soldiers. Labeled a threat.
"Maybe I deserve it."
He walked to the small metal table in the corner. On top of it sat an old radio he'd patched together with scrap copper. He turned it on.
"…Kael Grayson remains at large. Regional police have intensified operations in High Sky and San Boreal. Citizens are urged to cooperate…"
"…some witnesses claim he vanished at inhuman speed. Rumors of genetic modification are beginning to spread…"
Kael clenched his fist.
"The world doesn't want to understand. Doesn't care why I did it."
He looked up at the cracked ceiling. Then slowly sank to the ground again. The book fell beside him, open.
He didn't look at it.
Just hugged his knees and buried his face.
"Sara… I'm sorry."
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Sara checked the time on her phone.
3:12 a.m.
She hadn't slept a minute.
She opened her chat with Kael. The last message was from him.
"Sara, I swear I'll get through this. But please, stay away. I don't want you hurt because of me."
Her screen blurred with tears.
She called him. Again. Without hope.
Call failed.
"Where are you…?" she whispered.
She went to her room and pulled out a cardboard box filled with memories.
Photos from when they were kids. Tickets to a play. Letters he wrote her when they were fourteen.
Sara wept in silence, curled around the letters as if she could hug him through the paper.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
In the warehouse, Kael stood.
His body ached with exhaustion, but his mind was clear.
He looked at the book.
Then at the sword.
And left them on the table.
For the first time in weeks, he walked out without them.
The night wrapped around him. He didn't run. He walked like any other man through the dark streets.
He knew where he was going.
To the police station.
To turn himself in.
Maybe they'd kill him on sight.
Maybe they'd torture him.
But he couldn't carry the weight of his choices any longer.